ALV of the Year Announces 2017 Program Details

One-day event to include on and off-road driving

By Nina Russin

ALV 2016 winner Nissan Titan tackles the off-road route

ALV of the Year announces plans for its 2017 program, taking place on Friday October 20. This year, the active lifestyle vehicle program combines media and athlete ride-and-drive events into a single day, with guests arriving on Thursday October 19 and departing the morning of Saturday the 21st. The host hotel is the Phoenix/Chandler Hilton, located off the Chandler exit of the 101 Freeway.

The ride-and-drive program is open to credentialed media, ALV jury panel members and twenty elite athletes including representatives from Arizona Legends, retired NFL players living in the Phoenix area. The day-long event features on-road routes as well as an expanded off-road driving program in the Tonto National Forest east of Phoenix. The awards ceremony will take place during dinner at the Hilton on Friday evening.

The Butcher Jones recreation area in the Tonto National Forest combines spectacular scenery with challenging trails for off-roading.

“By compressing the program and focusing on elite versus regional athletes, we believe ALV is both raising the bar and giving all participants who vote on vehicle entries equal access to driving opportunities,” said ALV of the Year LLC president, Nina Russin. “Our goal continues to be evaluating these vehicles with metrics important to buyers with active lifestyles, including performance on and off-road, safety, ergonomics and cargo capability.”

ALV is expanding its administrative team to better address the needs of OEM participants and create a larger media footprint through traditional channels and social media.